Apple iPhone 5 incompatible with UK 4G networks launching 2013

4G spectrum being auctioned by Ofcom later this year won't work with the iPhone 5 – but EE network, due in October, will be compatible

The version of the iPhone 5 being launched in the UK will work only with 2100MHz, 1800MHz and 850MHz

Ofcom's plans for 4G are at odds with the specification of the iPhone 5, which means it won't work on super-fast networks launching in 2013.

With EE soon to launch the UK's first 4G mobile broadband network, Apple has confirmed that the new iPhone 5 will work on its network. However, the specification of the iPhone 5 means that it won't work with other 4G networks due to launch in 2013.

In July Ofcom announced plans to auction 4G spectrum to mobile phone operators with the process due to begin later this year. At the time the communications regulator said it would be auctioning two bands of spectrum, 800MHz and 2.6GHz.

The version of the iPhone 5 being launched in the UK will work only with 2100MHz, 1800MHz and 850MHz. This means it will work with EE's 4G network, but not with the 4G being auctioned by Ofcom. An Ofcom spokesperson confirmed that the iPhone would not be compatible.

This could mean that EE's rival networks, including O2 and Vodafone, won't be able to offer 4G for the iPhone 5.

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Google blocked Acer smartphone on Android incompatibility concerns

Acer abruptly canceled a launch of a new smartphone in China on Thursday, without clearly saying why

IDG News Service - Google responded to allegations it stopped the launch of a new Acer smartphone in China, by stating that the handset's Chinese-developed mobile OS was "apparently derived" from Android, but still not fully compatible with the Android ecosystem and its apps.

Taiwanese PC maker Acer was originally scheduled to launch a new smartphone on Thursday that was to use the Aliyun OS, a Linux-based mobile operating system developed by a subsidiary of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group. But the launch event for the device was abruptly canceled, with no clear word from Acer on why.

Alibaba, however, quickly responded and alleged that Google had threatened to revoke Acer's license to use Android if it went ahead with the launch of the Aliyun OS smartphone.

Google initially declined to comment on the matter. But on Saturday, Andy Rubin, head of the company's Android development team, addressed some of the controversy in a blog post and also on his Google+ page. He alleged the Aliyun OS was based on Android, but incompatible with the Android ecosystem.

The Google led Open Handset Alliance, of which Acer is a member, is meant to promote the development of Android. Members are restricted from building handsets that use incompatible versions of Android.

"While Android remains free for anyone to use as they would like, only Android compatible devices benefit from the full Android ecosystem," Rubin wrote. "By joining the Open Handset Alliance, each member contributes to and builds one Android platform -- not a bunch of incompatible versions."

A Google spokesman also confirmed that the company did indeed alert Acer that it was launching a phone using an allegedly incompatible version of Android. But the spokesman declined to offer specifics and if Google threatened to revoke Acer's license to use Android.

In response to Rubin's statements, Alibaba Group spokesman John Spelich said in an email it was ironic Google talked about openness, but still promoted a closed system with its Android OS.

"Aliyun OS is not part of the Android ecosystem, so of course Aliyun OS is not, and does not have to be, compatible with Android," he said. "This is like saying that because they own the Googleplex in Mountain View, therefore anyone who builds in Mountain View is part of the Googleplex. Will someone please ask Google to define Android?"

The Aliyun OS was launched last year, but currently is only being used on phones from two Chinese handset vendors, Tianyu and Haier. Acer would have provided backing from a better-known vendor.

Acer could not be reached for immediate comment. But in a statement issued on Friday, Acer said it would continue to work with its strategic partners in China to create improved products and services.

Rubin added in his postings, that it would be "easy" for an operating system to become Android compatible, suggesting that Acer could still launch its new smartphone if changes are made to the Aliyun OS.

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Google to drop support for IE8 on Nov. 15

Significant impact on Windows XP, which cannot run newer IE9 or the upcoming IE10

Google will drop support for Microsoft's Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) for its online apps and services in mid-November, effectively ending support for many users of Windows XP.

"Internet Explorer 10 launches on 10/26/2012, and as a result, we will discontinue support for Internet Explorer 8 shortly afterwards, on 11/15/2012," the company wrote on a Friday blog. "After this date, users accessing Google Apps services using Internet Explorer 8 will see a message recommending that they upgrade their browser."

Because IE8 is the newest Microsoft browser that runs on Windows XP, and because Google had previously abandoned IE7 and IE6 -- the other versions that run on XP -- the move significantly impacts Windows XP users locked into Internet Explorer by corporate or organization policies.

Neither IE9, which Microsoft launched in March 2011, or IE10, which will debut alongside Windows 8 in late October, runs on Windows XP.

After Nov. 15, users running IE8 may have trouble with some features in Google Apps. And if past practice is any clue, other sites and services, including Gmail and Google Calendar, may also be affected. At some point, those apps may stop working entirely in IE8.

This wasn't the first time that Google has warned users to upgrade to a newer browser. In July 2011, the company said it would dump IE7 from its list of supported browsers; in January 2010, it announced it would no longer support IE6, Microsoft's 2001 browser.

Google's policy is to support only the current version of a browser, and its immediate predecessor.

Giving up on IE8, however, is markedly different than dumping IE7.

Last year, when Google said it would stop supporting IE7, that edition accounted for just 7% of all browsers used worldwide, according to Web analytics firm Net Applications.

IE8, on the other hand, was the most widely-used browser edition in the world last month, with a usage share of 25%. Of those who ran one version or another of IE, nearly half, or 47%, ran IE8 in August.

Windows XP faces its own end-of-life cutoff; Microsoft will serve users with that operating system's final security update in April 2014. But like IE8, Windows XP remains a major presence. Last month, Net Applications measured XP's global usage share at 42.5%, just behind the three-year-old Windows 7's 42.8%.

 

Google is the first major online software maker to drop 2009's IE8 from a support list. Microsoft, for instance, has committed to supporting IE8 on Windows 7 until 2020.

IE8 users, particularly those running Windows XP, can switch to another browser, including the most recent versions of Mozilla's Firefox, Google's own Chrome or Opera Software's Opera, to run Google Apps.

The end-of-support plan for Google Apps will not disrupt access to its search site using older browsers.

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